Detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei accused of plagiarism by officials

BEIJING - China's official Xinhua news agency has reported that artist Mr Ai Weiwei (picture), whose detention has drawn international criticism, has been accused on the Internet of "stealing" the idea for a 2007 exhibit. Xinhua published late on Saturday a critique of Mr Ai, cataloguing criticisms and accusations against the artist that were allegedly found online. Mr Ai was last seen being led away by police at a Beijing airport on April 3 after he was barred from boarding a flight to Hong Kong. The accusation of plagiarism relates to Mr Ai flying 1,001 "ordinary" Chinese citizens to a 2007 show in the German city of Kassel as "living exhibits", according to Xinhua's critique. According to the Xinhua critique, Chinese novelist Wang Shuo wrote in his online blog that Mr Yue Luping, an art professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Xi'an, was the "alleged author of the innov...